The invention solves two basic problems of the kind that are faced by owners of coin operated vending machines. One relates to accounting. The other relates to theft of money and the conversion or embezzlement of goods from the machines. Theft and embezzlement is a problem of major proportions. A majority of the thefts are committed by people who are hired to service the machines and to collect the monies deposited in them. A protective system must take into account a wide range of circumstances. In some cases, there is an attempt to adjust the inventory record of goods to prevent discovery of the theft. Sometimes no attempt is made to hide the fact of a theft, but the thievery is accomplished in a way that makes it difficult to discover at which machine and at what time the theft occurred. Prior schemes to discourage thievery have involved elaborate inventory systems, a division of the tasks of replacing the goods in machines and collecting monies from them, and a variety of other schemes.
Almost all vending machines include some mechanisms for testing for counterfeit coins. Many vending machines include mechanisms for counting coins and for computing the value of the coins that have been inserted. Thus, there is a mechanism within the vending machine for comparing the denomination of the coins inserted in the machines and for giving credit when the requisite coinage has been received. It is possible to begin with that counting and testing and crediting structure to devise an apparatus that will count the number of coins of each denomination that have been received and to compute the total of money that has been received. Such mechanisms have been made the basis for security systems. They have a number of short-comings. It is difficult to make the system tamper proof such that it is not possible to roll back the count or to count in the forward direction through maximum count and beyond to a lesser count than the true one. More serious is the problem that, unless the counting apparatus is dismantled and carried back to the owner or trusted lieutenant, there is no practical way, short of making the collections themselves, that the owner or his trusted agent can know what the count was. Again, while this description of problems to be solved by the invention is limited to the field of coin operated vending machines, the invention does not have that limitation. It has broader applications and can be used whenever a series of discreet events, or things, or occurences, must be tallied.
The other problem relates to inventory control and accounting. It has been difficult to secure adequate and timely data on vended sales and receipts. As a result, it has been very difficult to apply mechanized accounting and inventory control techniques to the vending machine business.